B ingo calling is an art and bingo callers are the artists displaying their talent through innovative ways of calling Bingo nicknames that have been picked out. For ages Bingo callers have been using various nicknames such as, Jump & Jive (35) and Heavens Gate (78) to add fun to the interesting game of Bingo.

With the advent of various Bingo sites, the traditional trend of calling out bingo numbers has been replaced by straight bingo calling which is electronic. This new rage of calling out Bingo numbers has become quite popular these days.

There are several reasons behind the popularity of straight number calling. The new and modern generation thinks that Bingo is a thoughtful game with loads of money involved ; one cannot afford to be light-hearted and frivolous when calling out the winning numbers in such a money-minting game.

So, it is that straightforward calling is now in vogue.  It is this style of calling that helped Mandy Gorgan win the UK Caller of the Year as far back as in 2004. With Gorgan winning the hearts of bingo players all over UK with her calling style, number calling with clarity picked up popularity.

Indeed Bingo games is serious business these days with rich rewards in the form of huge jackpots. With such high stakes involved, Bingo players need to concentrate on the numbers and the funny nicknames can cause distraction. This apart, cheesy Bingo nicknames like two fat ladies for 88 may even offend the feminists out there.

Not everyone is capable of taking things lightly and if you are one of them too, you can adopt straight Bingo calling. However, the traditional style of Bingo calling is still favored by many, especially in small town Bingo halls . While it is okay to stick to the old tradition, one should also try to innovate and come out with new variants. Surely you can fabricate Bingo nicknames that would catch the fancy of younger bingo players? How about Skinny Jeans for 11?

There is something about Bingo that we just can’t resist! It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason that makes it an engrossing game all over the world. If you like 75 ball Bingo for its speed and huge variety of Bingo patterns, your friend may be fond of 90 ball Bingo because of its simplicity. If the Aussies play Housie, Bingo players in UK call it ‘housey’ while ‘tambola’ is how the Asians know Bingo.

However, we can’t deny that the 75 ball Bingo variation is more popular, basically because of the wide range of Bingo patterns that it offers to suit various tastes of Bingo players.

There is a vibrant range of static Bingo patterns ranging from simple postage stamps to complex picnic tables for fun-loving Bingo players. You can also try out those typical straight lines, corners and coveralls too, if you want to get a traditional Bingo treat.

Then there are those naughty dynamic Bingo patterns for our adventurous Bingo players. These players daringly accept the challenge of these non- static patterns that move from 90° to 180° and from 180° to 120°. It does sound crazy, but it is good to be crazy at times.

All you newbies out there …cheer up because Bingo has ‘wild’ patterns in store for you. In the 75 ball Bingo variation, wild patterns give you an easy option to create stipulated bingo patterns anywhere on the bingo card.

And if you are on the lookout for longer bingo games…go for 90 ball bingo. It is played with 90 numbers and so the game takes more time to complete compared to 75 ball bingo. However, this version of bingo is not liked much as it does not have many bingo patterns to offer. It is mostly the plain horizontal lines, corners and full house that are played.

You can take a walk to the close by Bingo halls in your locality and enjoy all these variations with your Bingo buddies along with complimentary drinks and snacks.

But hey are you feeling tired? Don’t have the energy to step out in the cold? Or don’t have an access to the land Bingo halls? Don’t you worry! High technology Internet software tools have all the solutions have brought bingo halls right into your living room. All you need is a desktop, an Internet connection, a comfortable couch and a glass of red wine in your hands. Plus, the never-ending bonus offers of online bingo to keep up the excitement.

In the end whatever Bingo games variation you choose to play, your ultimate goal should be to grab the maximum fun. So, make sure you pick up the Bingo game that you think suits your needs best and have a Bingo bash.

Bingo is a versatile game. It’s a game of 75, 80, or 90 balls, with thousands of winning patterns. Over the years, or I would rather say centuries, Bingo has undergone a significant change. Men, women, adults, youngsters – everybody loves to play Bingo which was once considered a “ladies-only” game.

As a result, Bingo winning patterns have undergone a major change. With the invention of online Bingo, thanks to computers and Internet, today there are hundreds of interesting Bingo patterns to choose from and play on. These patterns are interesting, a lot of fun to play with and not exactly easy to win. In fact, it is these changes in the Bingo patterns that have brought in an element of challenge in an otherwise simple and staid number-guessing game.

The most common Bingo patterns are called static Bingo patterns. These kinds of patterns are very popular in online Bingo as well as land-based Bingo. These patterns don’t move. For example, let us take the Letter C static pattern– it will stay where it is. A player has to get the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16, 20, 21, and 25 to match the ‘C’ pattern. Here it would mean five squares under B, and two each for I, N, G and O.

Dynamic patterns, on the other hand, are very challenging and are generated on the software-driven electronic Bingo cards of online Bingo games. A dynamic pattern can change anytime in the duration of a Bingo game. Let us take a look at the same example of the Letter C pattern. If it is dynamic, the letter C may change its position by rotating clockwise or anti-clockwise. These patterns are hard to complete –obviously the numbers on the first and last row and first column –may not help you complete the pattern which may have rotated to another position. However, it is a lot of fun to chase the pattern. After all, fun and money is what Bingo is all about.

Another variant is the wild pattern. Using the same example ‘C’, the wild pattern is one in which the ‘C’ can be plotted and completed by a winner in any manner. In land-based Bingo games, the required number of squares in such games is specified, whereas in online bingo games, the patterns are displayed.

Also, the letter or alphabet Bingo is one of the simpler patterns of a Bingo game –be it static or dynamic. These days dynamic patterns can come in different shapes based on images of say, a cake, a ship, a heart-sign and so on.

Whether you play Bingo online or at a land-based Bingo hall, you can find different pattern games to try your luck on. To be part of the fresh excitement that is conquering the online Bingo world, go for the dynamic patterns only after you have some expertise with static ones.

Bingo will continue to improvise and innovate. Who knows what other changes we will witness in the future. Whatever the change may be, fun and rewards will continue to be part of online Bingo.

Do you know what Bingo wings are? Now don’t get visions of a fairy bestowing you with Bingo games benefits. Bingo wings is a popular slang used in the West to describe the built-up fat that hangs from the upper arms of elderly, fat women!

There are numerous nicknames for this unfortunate piece of flesh which women Bingo players are notorious for! They include mooney arms, bat wings, tuck shop arms, dinner lady arms, nanna wobble and so on. But the term Bingo wing is by far the most popular as it is commonly spotted on women who frequent Bingo halls, daubing the numbers. Also because when these Bingo playing women cry out Bingo and hold up their tickets, there is simply no missing the triceps!

Do you have those flabby Bingo wings? There are many specific exercises prescribed to reduce them. Just do a Google search with any of the terms listed above and get started! However, if you are one of those who does not care about these little imperfections, and just want to have a good time playing Bingo, there is news for you. Tubby body frames are being noticed, appreciated and even awarded these days. So make the most of having the most!

As recently as on September 15, 2008, there was an anti-size zero campaign at the Natural History Museum in London. The campaign included a group of fat ladies dancing and flaunting their over-sized assets. The banners for this campaign proclaimed: “Size zero so passe…give me Bingo wings any day!!!”

You can also proudly shake your bingo wings to the tunes of the song, “Goodbye to size zero, Hello to big girls” starring pop icon, Christopher Biggins.

In fact, an on-going competition for the best Bingo wings has thrown up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the big to be bigger still! Entries with photos or video clips will be previewed and judged in a “Bingo Wings Idol” competition. The winner will be featured in a commercial that is proposed to be aired in the UK and around the world. So Bingo wings should not make you shy away and hide; on the other hand, be bold and flaunt the flab!

However if it is actually giving you a complex and you don’t want to step out anymore, you can always turn to online Bingo.  We at 123bingoonline understand your sensitivity and don’t poke fun at women who just want to have a good time. If all the talk about Bingo wings makes you up in arms against such Bingo halls or sites, you know you can always play at our site.

There are Bingo players and there are Bingo players. Like they say, not everybody is made equal. So is the case with Bingo players. It is getting increasingly difficult to tell whether the game makes the players or the players make the game! Bingo players bring with them a certain style and attitude and this contributes to how the game is played. Conversely, Bingo games bring with it share of joys and sorrows which in turn shapes a Bingo player.

It is the habits of  Bingo players that has given the Bingo world distinct groups of gamblers. Some are so used to playing at one particular bingo site that they stick to it like glue! They shy away from exploring other Bingo sites and don’t like to even try out different kinds of bingo games. So much so, they play the same game every single day and even look for tickets with their lucky numbers. Obviously it must be paying them something, so who are we to complain? I call them Conformists- and they are not much different from the players who play at one local Bingo hall year after year.

The industry does see them as loyal players, and showers gifts on them. Not that they don’t try to lure away the loyal players on other sites! Easy prey to such allurements from Bingo websites are the adventurous players who buzz around from one bingo site to another and from one Bingo game to another. Such players are daring and like to play on bingo cards with different numbers every time. Indeed they live up to the name Livewire players, being energetic and always on the look out for more money! We suspect that they believe being at one place brings bad luck!

Then there are the Nomads. They keep logging in and out of Bingo games rooms throughout the day and their luck on an assorted variety of games. However, even if they have good fortune, they move on other games, not because they are superstitious but more because they feel the urge to move. Often, such players are guilty of not staying on long enough to reap rich benefits too.

The exact opposite of Nomads and Livewires are the Bingo Fanatics. They log in early in the morning, almost as if it were a ritual and stay on a site till the late hours. They play Bingo as if there was no tomorrow and are mindless of whether they are winning or losing. Such a Bingo habit, is the most dangerous and injurious to the health of bingo players. They are unable to concentrate on a game, can neither strategise to win nor relax and take it easy when they lose. The best advice to such players is: “Why don’t you take a little break, go out for walks, cook an amazing dish for your family. The Bingo site will not go away!”

In the final analysis, the best group of players are the happy-go-lucky types. They love to play bingo on a regular basis but don’t get addicted. They are bingo enthusiasts who pursue the game equally for pleasure. As long it gives them happiness they play and if they find themselves losing , they are wise enough to call it a day.

Which Bingo player-type are you?

Bingo callers are given utmost importance as far as the game of Bingo is concerned. For some years now, Bingo players across UK have been voting every year to nominate their favorites as the national ‘caller of the year.’

This contest is conducted by the National Bingo Game Association (NGBA) which links more than 300 Bingo clubs across the nation annually. While regional caller awards are also given, the race is for the ‘national caller’ award.

Along with the coveted National Bingo Caller of the Year award, comes fame and fortune and opportunities to travel the world. Winners also get to call Bingo numbers at Las Vegas, the mecca of casinos.

For a Bingo caller, it is nothing less than a dream come true to win the award. In the words of Blake Robson, 2007 National Bingo caller of the Year, in the UK: “When they first announced me as the winner I was absolutely elated. Everything seemed to happen in a blur – I barely remember receiving the trophy. Within a few hours I was being interviewed on Radio Five Live, then the next morning I was a guest on BBC’s Breakfast programme.”

There are others who have also won the award. Brett Hyrjak, Karl Seth, Mandy Gargan, Mike Vyse, Peter Lewis, Alan Stockdale, Phil Groom, and Steve Linder – have all won this trophy in the past.

Alan Stockdale, one of the winners, became so excited that he called his job “the best job in the world” after winning the award.

With the Bingo industry growing at a fast pace, many Bingo clubs and sites have also started hosting in-house Bingo caller competitions. Michael Edwards won the award for Best Caller at the Gala Bingo Club in 2007. Last year when the NGBA failed to conduct the competition, Gala Club stepped in and Edwards was chosen as the Bingo Caller of the Year.

Wonder who would be the chosen one in 2009?

For those who are new to Bingo, a Bingo caller is the person who calls out the numbers printed on Bingo balls as the balls are drawn. Though that sounds routine and mechanical, it is the ability of a Bingo caller to call numbers in an interesting and engaging way, that makes the game interesting. People enjoy the style of a Bingo caller so much that they elevate them to the status of a hero, celebrity or role-model.

A Bingo caller actually runs the show in a Bingo event. After all Bingo is all about numbers, isn’t it? As a Bingo caller is always at the center of attraction, Bingo clubs and websites organize several events involving celebrities.

Celebrities are only too happy to join in as a participant, a Bingo caller, a chat host or as a guest. Celebrities are also seen taking on the role of a Bingo caller when a Bingo event is organized for charity, awareness or to support a cause. Celebrities from sports, politics, silver screen, music and politics have been known to take part in Bingo events.

Music manager, Sharon Osbourne, American actor David Arquette and British TV star Alison Hammond are some celebrities who have called Bingo numbers in the past. Sometimes online Bingo sites offer recordings of celebrities’ voices doing the calling and players can pick the celebrity voice that they want!

However, it is not all glitz and glamor. The job of a Bingo caller can be very challenging indeed. Not only do callers have to keep track of the numbers called, they have to keep players happy by repeating numbers when required. They also need to crosscheck claims made by players to see if the numbers called have indeed been daubed on the winner’s Bingo card. They have to avoid confusion, resolve issues if there are multiple claims to the prize and of course. They also have to give away the gifts or money in a cordial manner, though it may be the Bingo cashier who actually handles the cash. All of this while ensuring there is  fun and enjoyment during the course of the Bingo game.

Usually, Bingo clubs hire full time callers, but there are clubs who hire part time callers, and some even hire callers on “event-basis.” It’s a good job if you want to go for it –take a call.

There are many professional Bingo callers out there who have done Bingo calling every day for many many years! So much so that there is a contest in the UK to name the best caller. More on that soon. Watch this space!

Think Bingo is not a game where you can hit a big jackpot? Think again. There have been many successful Bingo players around the world that made their fortunes with Bingo. They hit the jackpot and saw their dreams come true.  Read on…

It was a dream come true for Christine Bradfield when she hit a £10,00,000  Bingo jackpot. Christine would never forget January 28, 2008, when she became a millionaire overnight. A 53 year lady shocked the whole Bingo community worldwide with her distinguished win. Even then, she returned to her old £5.55 an hour job as a petrol station cashier, saying that she didn’t want to go mad spending her mammoth Bingo prize on things like shopping everyday. By the way, she donated a decent amount of money to different charities as well.

Christine is not the only Bingo millionaire though. Pauline Clarke, a 62 year old pensioner from Bristol, England created history when she became the first woman to win the £10,00,000 at a Bingo online event. And do you know how much money she gambled to win this huge amount? Just 60 pence!

That’s right, according to her, she deposited £5 in her Bingo account a couple of weeks ago. By the time this historical game was announced, she had 60 pence left in her account. With that amount, she bought her winning Bingo games ticket just in time. The Bingo ticket fetched her winnings, big enough to make her a millionaire.

But the real Big Win story is the recent $ 2 million jackpot that 46 year old Arnulfo Aserios, an immigrant construction worker from the Philippines won in the Guam  National Olympic Committee SportsBingo.  Of course, about $400,000 will go for taxes, but the rest is still enough for Aserios to buy a bigger house, some gifts who his wife. He can also afford to pay for his sons’ higher education.

As for himself, Aserios only plans to buy more Bingo tickets! By the way, he paid $ 7. 80 for his winning Bingo card.

These are just some winners’ stories. You too can share your story of earning a fortune with Bingo. Bingo is a pure chance-based game. And the odds of winning remain the same whether you play Bingo online or at your local Bingo hall. You never know when your big day will arrive. Till then, keep daubing numbers on your Bingo tickets.

Hi! I am a Bingo chat monitor (CM). My job requires me to monitor chat sessions regularly on our Bingo games website. Big deal, you may say. Well, it sounds easy but it is not. Spend a day as a chat monitor (CM) in a Bingo chat room, and you will know what I mean. Sure it feels good to be a monitor, but with power comes responsibility. Let me share with you my experiences as a Bingo CM.

You know how fast online Bingo games are. Usually these games last from two to five minutes. During this short interval, a CM has to engage players in friendly banter, host a variety of chat games, monitor chat room decorum, as well as answer all queries. Sometimes, players may have complex problems that need to be addressed meaningfully.

A few days ago I was monitoring a chat session. Players were interacting with me.  I noticed one new player was facing some difficulties but I had to deal with the queries on as “first come first serve” basis.

Then the worst thing happened. She expressed herself with a sobbing face. Of course we are human beings and not some battery-operated robots. I asked her what went wrong and she said she was unable to buy Bingo cards. Since she was new to online Bingo, she had no clue that if a game was in progress, one cannot buy new cards. I invited her to play chat games while the current Bingo session was on. She happily accepted it with a smiley emoticon!

In online Bingo, the numbers are daubed automatically on your cards, and players tend to feel bored. To keep people busy and enthusiastic becomes a challenge. To break the monotony, CMs usually offer chat games.

Sometimes these chat games are based on generic questions on local news, movies, music, celebrities, sports, adventure etc. And sometimes it’s pure Bingo stuff, things like “get these numbers first and win prizes.” I must say that players take active part in chat games, making the chat room come alive. But sometimes players don’t like the chat games offered and start swearing. At times they get abusive too, especially if they are losing or feel cheated. It is then that CMs have to either turn on the charm and pacify them, or ask them to leave politely and sternly. I had to do this when one player constantly abused another who was winning.

The really difficult players are those who have problems with their Bingo account. Very often they bring their queries to the chat room instead of going to Live Help. I sometimes pass on the customer support telephone number and a name. This helps to soothe irate players who want instant solutions.

It’s fun to be a CM and host Bingo games but it’s also very challenging. It demands an enthusiastic, jolly, and supportive personality. Every time I log into a chat room, I recall these lines from a great song, “…you can be a mother while you are a man…” And hosting Bingo games becomes a lot of fun all of a sudden.

Did I hear you say that Bingo is a woman’s game? It is not women alone who play and like Bingo. We men love Bingo too!

There is no denying the fact that a large chunk of Bingo players include women. But how can we forget that the game of Bingo was actually invented by a man- Edwin S Lowe?

Well, I am a man too and I accept that I just love to play Bingo. I can give a number of reasons for why I love Bingo.

To start with, it is the most fun-way to earn money. I am one of those who likes to mix a little pleasure with business. So I playfully try my luck at Bingo, but am very business-like about the money I wager and win. Especially in these times, with the recession has claimed many victims. I have seen friends who have been layed-off behave quite irresponsibly, whiling away their time at Bingo halls, wasting money by wagering without a thought, drinking and gossiping. Now, if I were to lose my job (God Forbid!) I would treat Bingo as an alternative. Why not? If you play like a professional, it can be quite paying.

Even now, it gives me a refreshing break after the days drudgery. I play Bingo online and avoid the additional expenditure on snacks and drinks. One of my friends who frequents the Bingo hall down the road, joked that the Bingo dauber costs less than a golf kit! But hey, online Bingo players don’t need a dauber –there is an automatic dauber feature as well!

Online Bingo is really cool! Playing Bingo, earning rewards, reaping beefy bonus profits and chatting with online Bingo buddies without leaving the comfort of the living room is every lazy man’s dream! I think it is the Sunday morning equivalent of my dad’s newspaper reading sessions! Except that my wife does not complain or feel left out like my Mom used to feel when Dad read the newspaper for hours on end! Yesterday in fact, my wife peeped over my shoulder and commented on the game’s progress. She then got so involved that she sat down with me and played an online game herself with me looking on. Speak of Bingo Bonding!

It is not as if I never visit the Bingo hall though. In fact, I accompany by wife there. We get our time together, a weekly outing, some tidbits to nibble on as well as chit-chat with friends. After all one cannot go to the movies, concerts or vacations as frequently as one can Bingo!